Federal Regulatory Enforcement Policies

HR Policy Association believes that, as long as our employment laws continue to operate on the premise that all employers will try to take undue advantage of their employees absent a specific prohibition in law or regulations, employment growth will continue to be inhibited by unnecessary rules that burden primarily the good employers. Meanwhile, a failure to target the laws and their enforcement will enable most scofflaws to continue to seek ways to circumvent the law, hoping they never get caught. There will always be a small minority of employers who will try to take advantage of their employees, just as there will always be a small minority of employees who will try to take advantage of their employers. It is important to recognize that the vast majority of employers understand that running a workplace that lacks respect for employees, that does not offer fair compensation, that does not provide essential health and safety protections, and that does not insist on nondiscriminatory treatment is ultimately a self-defeating practice that diminishes a company’s competitiveness. Thus, the resources devoted to the enforcement of workplace regulations should primarily be targeted at that minority of employers who deliberately engage in the abuse of their employees.